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Team America
Team America are a world class motorcycling stunt riding exhibition team based in the United States. Five of Team America's six regulars are genetically altered humans who possess a special mental link with one another that enables them to share certain information and feelings as well project their combined mental and physical attributes during times of stress into a host body. This host body takes on the masked identity of the Marauder, also known as the Black Marauder, the Dark Rider or the Black Rider. History Origins The parents of James McDonald, Winthrop Roan Jr., Leonard Hebb, Luke Merriweather, and "The Wolf" (real name unrevealed) were among the undisclosed number of couples who were the unwitting test subjects in an experiment conducted by the subversive organisation HYDRA. The experiment, called "Project: New Genesis." was designed by HYDRA scientists to create a race of genetically altered humans who could be trained as superhuman agents for the group. The expectant mothers were surreptitiously administered a mutagenic compound without their knowledge, and after the children were born, HYDRA agents kept the children under surveillance as they grew to adulthood. When none of the test subjects seemed to exhibit any extraordinary superhuman power, the project was terminated. Unknown to HYDRA, five of test subjects did develop latent superhuman powers but it would not manifest itself until the men came into closer proximity to one another upon reaching adulthood. Perhaps, not coincidentally, the five latent superhuman's each developed an aptitude and passion for motorcycles. Initial Meeting Three of the five met in Daytona Beach, Florida, when motorcyclists from around the world congregated there for the first race of the new Unlimited Class Racing Competition, a tournament organised and sponsored by certain technology corporations and industrialised nations to test-race their high-performance vehicles. It was called "Unlimited Class" because there were no restrictions placed on engine size or power or technological innovation permitted in the races. James McDonald, Winthrop Roan Jr., and "Wolf" each met for the first time at Daytona, but manifested their collective self, the Marauder, a few days earlier. The Marauder The Marauder had stolen into the corporate headquarters of Universal Technologies, a front for HYDRA, in order to purge the computer files on the five individuals capable of manifesting it, located in the record of "Project: New Genesis." When HYDRA learned of the purge, it deduced the identities of the five file-subjects from cross-referenced data but now lacked the detailed histories of the five. Believing the McDonald, Roan or "Wolf" must be the Marauder, HYDRA sent an agent to Daytona to assassinate all three. Forming the Team James McDonald, a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, went to Daytona to investigate rumoured HYDRA activity. Winthrop Roan Jr., preferring to be known by his stage name "R. U. Reddy," went to Daytona in hopes of getting hired as a racer. "Wolf" went to Daytona to look at the world's highest performance motorcycles and to see what sort of people drove them. Each of the three narrowly evaded the HYDRA assassin and was left a note by the Marauder claiming that they had a common destiny and should join together. After much deliberation, they agreed to do so for the time being, and exhausting McDonald's funds, they purchased motorcycles and uniforms. Calling themselves Team America, they entered the first Unlimited Class Racing Competition and won. Moments after victory, HYDRA attacked the raceway in an effort to procure a unique guidance system used in the race by one of the Japanese teams. Team America managed to foil their raid. Rocky Mountain Death Race At the next Unlimited Class event in the Rocky Mountains, Luke Merriweather (alias Cowboy) and Leonard Hebb (alias Wrench), hearing about Team America's surprise victory, met with the three founding members and petitioned for membership. Merriweather and Hebb were the other two of the five people who were mentally linked as a result of the HYDRA "Project: New Genesis." Feeling the rapport they shared with the newcomers, and recognising the contributions they could make to the team, the three original Team Americans welcomed the two into their ranks. Unofficially, Hebb's girlfriend Georgianna Sue Castlebury also became a member of the team. Hebb was a gifted mechanic and designer of high-performance vehicles, and his Winnebago recreational vehicle became Team America's mobile headquarters. His girlfriend Castlebury, it was later learned, was usually the host body for their collective persona, the Marauder, although she did not know it. Hebb designed and built a race car for Team America to compete in the Rocky Mountain race with, but due to the interference of a HYDRA assassin, they failed to finish first. A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste While waiting for the next Unlimited Class Racing competition, the members of Team America practised and took time off to pursue loose ends in their personal lives. The three original Team Americans performed at a charity exhibition at Madison Square Gardens in New York, appearing alongside the Avenger Captain America. When one of the spectators, a prominent Nobel prize winner, was kidnapped by a large android, the Team assisted Captain America and several other well known individuals whom HYDRA had abducted. Triple Cross The next Unlimited Class Racing event was held on the Sahara Desert in Egypt. Taking a commercial flight there, the Team was dismayed when their team leader McDonald (called Honcho) left the group to foil a weapons smuggling operation. The operation involved Hammer Industries, a company which was also sponsoring a car in the race. "Wolf" wrecked Team America's vehicle in the preliminary time trials, but Wrench managed to repair it in time for the main event. Team America lost to Team Hammer, and Honcho failed to show up in time to assist his teammates. Choices Deeply in debt, Team America returned to the United States. When talk of disbanding arose when their last motorcycle broke down and they had no money to fix it, the Marauder left the team it's own state of the art motorcycle. With it, Team America travelled across country entering every motorcycle race they could find. With all of the prize money, they paid their debts and rented a garage in Hoboken, New Jersey to serve as their headquarters. Investing everything they had in a new high-performance automobile for their next Unlimited Class competition, the Team was disheartened when it broke down during a time trial. Desperate, they accepted an offer from a recruiting agent of Stark Industries, who was more interested in acquiring the Marauders motorcycle then he was in having their services. Learning that they would be absorbed into a team of seventy-two other drivers, the Team began to regret their decision. However, when Stark President Anthony Stark learned of his recruitment agent's disreputable transaction, he made restitutions and released the Team from their contracts. Challenges In Lakebed, Oklahoma, the next Unlimited Class Racing Event was held and "Wolf" of Team America came in first. However, the race was disrupted first by the demonic Ghost Rider, who wished to settle a score with the Marauder, and then by HYDRA. HYDRA was interested in killing Team America in revenge for their interference in the Daytona affair at the Team's founding. In the melee, the Ghost Rider assisted the Team in fighting of HYDRA, but the Marauder was injured. Unmasking the silent cyclist, the Team was stunned to discover its identity to be Georgianna Castlebury. Later when Hale, one of the leaders of HYDRA, failed at a second attempt to assassinate the Team, she revealed to them their connection with "Project: New Genesis" in exchange for her freedom. Believing the HYDRA director to be a victim of circumstances, the Team helped rescue you from her own agents who were directed to kill her and her family should she fail in her mission. The End of Team America After this battle, Team America disbanded. Wrench and Castleberry married, Honcho wanted to devote more time to espionage work, Cowboy wanted to open up a school for stunt riders and Reddy and "Wolf" wanted time to sort out their lives. Heroes The retirement of the Team was short-lived, however. Cowboy invited "Wolf" and Reddy to join him in a series of charity exhibitions to promote Cowboy's school and the two accepted. At one such event, in upstate New York, Gideon Malick and Hive attacked the Coulson's Team who happened to be in attendance. The three Team Americans joined the fray, but were unable to stop the two from abducting Phil Coulson who the team had caused to become the host-body for the Marauder. Malick then appeared to James McDonald and bid him to assemble Team America and raid a fortress in the Sierra Madre Mountains of Mexico or else Coulson would be killed. Honcho assembled the rest of Team America and explained to them the situation. Before they could agree on a course of action, Nick Fury entered to coordinate efforts between Team America and Coulson's Team. While Coulson's Team went to rescue their teammate, Team America went to Mexico per Malick's demands. They infiltrated the fortress headquarters of one of the splinter groups of Advanced Idea Mechanics and managed to procure the device. However it was lost before it could be turned over to Malick. Regardless Coulson's Team managed to rescue Coulson. In exchange for their cooperation, Fury promised to assist the Team in learning how to control their mental link so they do not accidentally cause the Marauder to manifest itself in the form of someone as vulnerable as Coulson again. After several weeks of tutoring at the New Avengers Facility, Team America could now manifest the Marauder at will and had complete control over who it manifested itself upon. Members Founding Members Honcho * Name: '''James McDonald * '''Status: Alive * Description: '''Before the collapse of S.H.I.E.L.D., James McDonald was one of the organisation's top operatives. He often worked alongside fellow agent Joseph Gill but the two never agreed on anything and a deep animosity grew between them. McDonald is well versed in martial arts, small arms, explosives, and espionage. He is also an expert motorcycle stunt rider. '''Wolf * Name: Unrevealed * Status: Alive * Description: Born in Harlem, New York City, Wolf grew up in the Barrio.He had few friends, save for his fellow bikers. He was briefly acquainted with the Montoya family, dating the eldest daughter Reina for time. Wolf is the physically strongest of the group and appears to have limited empathic abilities in addition to his telepathy. He is also an expert motorcycle stunt rider. R. U. Reddy * Name: '''Winthrop Roan Jr. * '''Status: Alive * Description: '''After several years of living off the Roan family name and squandering millions, Reddy was disowned by his father and forced to earn his own living. He wandered America for a bit, becoming a rock singer in the meantime, but never earning any serious amount of money. Reddy is a professional rock and roll singer and well versed in music. He is also an expert motorcycle stunt rider. Later Members '''Cowboy * Name: '''Luke Merriweather * '''Status: '''Alive * '''Description: '''Luke Merriweather grew up in Austin, Texas. He dated P.J. Clover, the daughter of a powerful politician, but the relationship was never serious for either of them. He is an expert motorcycle stunt rider. He also possesses great coordination and has shown great aptitude with the lariat. '''Wrench * Name: '''Leonard Hebb * '''Status: '''Alive * '''Description: '''Leonard Hebb and his girlfriend Georgianna watched Team America win their first race from the comfort of their Winnebago. Len swore that he would join the team. Driving to South Florida, Len begged to join and was allowed in, proving his worth by customising and building their dune buggy from the ground up for the next race. He is an expert motorcycle stunt rider. He is also a top rate mechanic and engineer, capable of designing a host of racing vehicles at a moment’s notice. Unofficial Members '''Georgianna Hebb * '''Name: '''Georgianna Hebb (formerly Georgianna Castleberry) * '''Status: '''Alive * '''Description: '''Georgianna watched Team America’s first victory beside Wrench inside their mobile home. She initially questioned his idea of leaving to join the team but was soon swayed by the spirit of cooperation the Team showed. Georgianna served as the primary host of the Marauder and, under Cowboy's tutelage, she became a capable motorcycle stunt rider in her own right. Relationships Allies * Avengers ** Steve Rogers/Captain America ** Anthony Stark/Iron Man * S.H.I.E.L.D. ** Nick Fury ** Maria Hill ** Phil Coulson ** Daisy Johnson ** Melinda May ** Leo Fitz ** Jemma Simmons * Robbie Reyes/Ghost Rider Enemies * HYDRA ** Gideon Malick ** Hive * Hammer Industries * A.I.M. External Links * https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Thunderiders_(Earth-616) Category:Heroes Category:Groups Category:SHIELD Members Category:Earth-MCU Category:HYDRA Experiments